Episode 10: Part 1

     Gippal walked through a room with many elegant, marble columns. On the walls were beautifully-carved patterns and in the direct center of the room was an indentation with vines and other plants growing from it. At his feet was about an inch of water. "I'm standing in the sunken Walse Tower, which used to hold the famous water crystal. What used to protect the element of water in a world while also sealing in a great evil power, is now the ninth pitstop in a race around worlds.
     "Teams raced from ruins in Elicoor II to what they later learned to be the interior of a meteor heading straight for the Fantasy 5 verse's merged world. After crash landing on the planet, they searched for a hidden city and met with the roadblock, where teams had to navigate a yellow chocobo around the entire world. Reina and Faris showed off their knowledge of the world and chocobos as Reina pulled the sisters out to an early lead, which they never lost. Dona tried to trick Ma, but it didn't buy her as much time as she intended as Ma caught back up and she and Zell even passed Dona and Barthello because of a navigation error. Reina and Faris reached the Castle of Bal and after much thought, decided to use the last delay in the race, an Xing, on Fran and Balthier. The Xing caused very little damage to them, however, as the Ronso were following right behind them. But as Fran and Balthier and Biran and Yenke left in last place, they took different routes to the sunken tower, with Biran and Yenke's route paying off. Fran and Balthier attempted the luck-based crystal-diving detour and their luck ran out as they were the eighth team eliminated from the race.
     Now, with only four teams left, they are racing for the last three spots to compete in the final leg for one-million gil. Will Reina and Faris be able to remain a front-running team, even though they are the only team to have used up their Fast Forward? And how will teams react to the loss of Fran and Balthier: a team most other teams felt was the strongest in the race. Reina and Faris, who were first to arrive at 10:10 am, will depart at 10:10 pm."

<Reina & Faris: Sisters, 1st to Depart: 10:10 pm>
     Reina ripped open the clue as she bounced with excitement. "Climb the mystical ladder to your next destination."
     "What ladd--" Faris began, but stopped when she turned and saw a ladder in the room where the crystal used to be. It led up into what seemed to be water, but why the water was not rushing down on them was unknown.

<Announcer Gippal>
     "Teams must now climb up the ladder to reach their next destination. Their destination is on Earth in the Parasite Eve 2 verse."

<Reina & Faris: Sisters, Currently in 1st Place>
     Faris was first on the ladder and climbed up. She held her breath before entering the water, as did Reina who was just behind her. The water was actually a very thin layer and as the girls climbed through, they did not get wet at all. They were in a small, circular room with with water in the middle and a ring of grates around the edge of the room. There was a handrail between the grates and the water, which was easy for the girls to crawl through. They circled the room and found a ladder leading to a hatch in the roof. Faris pushed the hatch open and they found themselves on a very small island. It was only about 4 meters in diameter and was surrounded by water. And despite it being night, it seemed to be day. Directly in the center of the island was a clue box.
     Reina jumped up and took the clue. She pulled out two different cards. One was red, while the other green. "Fast Forward," she said, discarding the green card. "We already did it, so that's out." She opened the red roadblock card. "Roadblock: Who's constantly puzzled?"

<Announcer Gippal>
     "A roadblock is a task that only one team member may perform. In this roadblock, that team member must find a slide puzzle inside a shrine. There are four slide puzzles in total and for each puzzle there is a different solution. There are a total of three possible solutions, and all three solutions are placed prominently on a sign. On this four by four grid, there are four distinct red tiles, four distinct blue tiles, and four distinct yellow tiles, with some brown tiles as decoys. It is a typical slide puzzle in the sense that there will always be one blank space. The two tricks teams must realize is that firstly, they must make each row combination in the direction intended, be it top-to-bottom, left-to-right, or corner-to-corner. Secondly, there is a symbol of a circle with a dot on it pictured on the slide puzzle behind the moveable pieces in the lower-right corner. This dot is pictured in each of the solutions' depiction to hint to the teams that the symbol must be visible when their solution is complete, meaning the blank space on the puzzle must be in the lower-right. Once they have their solution, they must check a set of boxes: red, blue, and yellow. Each puzzle has its own set of boxes and only one box contains their clue."

<Reina & Faris: Sisters, Currently in 1st Place>
     "Sounds like yer kinda thing," Faris said.
     "I suppose so." The pyramid was visible in the distance, but there was no path leading away from the island. She started to walk toward the water, assuming it required a swim, but noticed a sign on the island that read "No Swimming" and was prominent Amazing FF Race colors. Below the words it read "Hours of Operation: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm."
     "We be waitin' then."

<Biran & Yenke: Comrades, 2nd to Depart: 10:29 pm>
     Biran tore through the clue and read it to Yenke. "Climb mystical ladder to next destination."
     "Yenke first!" Yenke raced to the ladder, barely edging out Biran. They started up and Yenke's foot accidentally slipped off and got poked on Biran's horn. Yenke was in pain, while Biran was laughing.
     "Yenke's foot dared to battle Biran's horn! Nothing beat Biran's horn. Yenke is footless now!"
     "Yenke has two feet though!" Yenke argued, but Biran wasn't having any of it.
     They continued up the ladder and climbed to the strange aquarium-like room. They pulled themselves under the railing and up the second ladder to the island with Reina and Faris.
     "Ahoy," Faris welcomed them.
     The Ronso, interpretting her words as crude, ignored her and pulled their clue from the box.
     "Fast Forward!" Yenke shouted, pulling out the green card.
     "Biran not sure," Biran said. "Lots of teams try for it."
     "But it guarantee Ronso in final race!" Yenke said.
     "What Ronso need do if not fasting?" Biran grabbed the roadblock clue. "Who constantly puzzled?"
     "What!? Another puzzle!?"
     "Ronso must do Fast Forward then. Only way to win!"

<Dona & Barthello: Summoner/Guardian, 3rd to Depart: 10:34 pm>
     Dona ripped open the clue and read it to Barthello. She sighed after reading about and then seeing the water on the ceiling. "In a bad mood already," she mumbled to herself.
     "I'll go first," Barthello said. "Maybe I can block the water with my body."
     "Good, but I don't think water works like that."
     Barthello led Dona up the ladder and was very pleased that he emerged dry. He was more pleased when Dona emerged dry as well. He helped her through the railing and up the final ladder to the island.
     The Ronso were still by the clue box, but Dona had no problem pushing through to get a clue of her own. She took the clue back to Barthello and opened it on an empty portion of the very small island. She started waving the Fast Forward in front of him. "What do you think?"
     "If we fail, it is over," he said. "But I'll follow you. Whatever you choose."
     "Good. We're going to do the Fast Forward just as soon as we can get off this stupid island."

<Ma & Zell: Mother/Son, Last to Depart: 10:47 pm>
     Ma ripped open the clue and read it to Zell. "Climb the mystical ladder to your next destination."
     "Will do!" Zell shouted. "Only two more legs, Ma! Then we've got the win!"
     "Oh, don't jinx us, Zelly!"
     The two climbed the set of ladders and joined the other teams on the island. All teams had picked their own corner of the island to sit and discuss privately their plans regarding the upcoming leg. Ma and Zell copied them and did the same after Zell retrieved their clue.
     "We might be screwed if we don't get it," Zell said. "But look at our competition, Ma. I think we can do it!"
     "If not, it'll be tough," she said. "I just hope that either all three of us go for it, or none of us go for it. So that we have a safety net."
     "We don't need a safety net, Ma! This is a race. All or nothing! Die or be killed!"
     "Actually, I think it's--"
     "We can do it, Ma! Let's just go for it! Go for the gold!"

-------------------------{Ma & Zell: Interview}-------------------------

     Ma and Zell stood on the island, facing the water. The other teams were behind them, trying to rest despite the strange hour of the sun. Both spoke quietly; just slightly louder than a whisper.
     "So, from what we gathered, all teams minus Reina and Faris are goin' for it," Zell said. "We heard them talking and well, we're all constantly glancing at the Fast Forward to decide if it's worth it. Problem is, our biggest competition is a shoe-in if more than one team goes for it. But I don't think that's anything we can change."
     "We're going to try the Fast Forward and hope for the best," Ma said. "This is intense!"

-------------------------{End Interview}-------------------------

<8:00 am>
     All teams were standing on the island, wide awake and ready to go. Nobody was quite sure what was going to happen until a large, metallic path started to slide toward the island. It was connected to a metallic pier not far from the island, but the pier seemed to be pointless and go nowhere. Once the path aligned with the island, all teams sprinted across it and soon found that the pier was not pointless as there was a protected staircase that led them to an underwater tunnel. There was also a sign in front of them that pointed directions. It said "Fast Forward" and pointed right, toward the underwater tunnel. "Roadblock" was listed as to the left, but there was no path at the end of the pier.
     Most teams didn't question it as they were already on their way to the Fast Forward, but Reina and Faris remained confused. It took a couple seconds before the path behind them started to move back to its starting position, which created a long bridge to a new area. The two raced across it and followed a series of rooms. The first was a garden, followed by a strange power plant that seemed to be gaining energy from a strange, bulbous creature. The girls looked at each other with a great deal of concern, but finally kept running.
     They finally reached the shrine and were forced to separate. Faris was forced to wait in a small area between the shrine and the power plant. She was able to see the sign that listed each of the possible combinations of symbols. The first combination was circled in red, then the second in yellow, and the third in blue. The symbols were Egyptian or at least Egyptian-like. After each circled combination was a circle with a dot in the middle.
     Reina continued down the path after a quick glimpse at the combinations and faced her slide puzzle on the wall. She was crammed in an area that was fairly dark and only lit by small lights above her chosen puzzle, which caused her hands to create shadows on the puzzle whenever she tried to move it. Large stone pillars and statues surrounded her in an elegant, yet creepy room. Just to the left of her puzzle were three sarcophaguses, each with a red, yellow, or blue trim. On the puzzle were colored stripes. The yellow stripe was at the top and bottom of the first column, the blue was at the left and right of the first row, and the red was at the bottom-left and upper-right moving diagonally across the puzzle.
     "Oh boy," Reina mumbled.

     Meanwhile, the large group of three teams raced through the underwater passage to find the pyramid. Zell was in front while Dona brought up the rear. They followed a flight of stairs back to the surface where they found a dirt path. It led into the distance where a large, museum-like building with a lot of windows awaited, but there was also a dirt trail that broke off to the right and led into a forest. They followed the forest trail and soon found a clue box containing the explanation of their Fast Forward.

<Announcer Gippal>
     "This is the second of two predetermined Fast Forwards. With a Fast Forward, teams can follow a set of instructions and bypass all remaining obstacles in the leg and go straight to the Pit Stop. However, teams can only use the Fast Forward once, so they must decide when it's most advantageous to use it. In this Fast Forward, teams must solve a difficult puzzle on top of the model pyramid. There are four switches on top of the pyramid: blue, red, yellow, and white. Using a strange clock-like dial (which begins misaligned), teams must figure out the relationship between given symbols and numbers to figure out how many times they must push each switch. The first to figure out this puzzle will be awarded the Fast Forward. But coming so close to the finale, do they want to risk the possibility of another team taking the Fast Forward and leaving them in last place? The choice is up to them."

     "A puzzle," Biran muttered. "Well, two horns better than one!"

     Zell raced to the top of the pyramid to see what they were up against. The pyramid, contrary to most pyramids, had a flat roof. And quite a large one at that. There was a large, golden statue of a head directly in front of him. Near the four corners of the roof were each of the colored panels. Zell walked to a panel and stepped on it. It shined brightly while he was on it, then stopped when he stepped off.

     "The hell is this?" Dona said, kicking a small misaligned dial. It spun slightly as she kicked it. Barthello bent down and started turning it, but stopped when he realized he didn't know what it meant yet.
     "I think we should do like the other teams," Barthello said. "Let's investigate first. Learn everything we need to know. Then we will try to figure things out.
     Dona agreed and followed Barthello to the pyramid, leaving the Ronso to stare at the dial.

     "It not lined up right," Yenke said. He crouched down and adjusted the dial until it made an accurate picture. In the center was an engraving of a muscular man and around the edges were markings like a clock, only it did not have numbers. Instead, it had a series of lines and dots. Where the 1 belonged, there was a dot. Where there should have been a 2 there were two dots. The 12's spot was held by two lines and two dots.
     "....Biran is confused," Biran said. "Ronso look around. Not let other teams know what Ronso found."
     "Yenke like plan." Before the left the dial, Yenke spun the dial so that it did not line up. The two headed off to check out the roof with the other two teams.

     All teams were searching frantically, but none were making any progress of any sort.
     "Zelly?" Ma said. "Do you think we should give up?"
     "Don't say such things, Ma!" Zell said. "We will get the Fast Forward, we will make it to next leg, and we will win the whole thing! Trust me!"
     "I hope you're right, Zelly."

     Reina started sliding the pieces around and finally aligned all the blue pieces in the top row. Nothing happened. She shouted out to Faris, "what were the blue symbols supposed to be again?"
     "Leaf, feather, compass, egg!" Faris's reply came. She had obviously made up names for the symbols, but they were good enough names that Reina saw her mistake and started sliding pieces around to make the proper order. Once she formed it, there was still no click, but then she remembered the circle with a dot in the lower-right corner. She slid random pieces out of the way until the circle and dot were revealed. The blue sarcophagus made a clicking noise. Reina stepped away from the puzzle and slid the lid off the blue sarcophagus. She searched inside, but there was nothing.
     "It work!?" Faris shouted.
     "Yeah, but no clue," came the echoing reply.
     "Drat."

     Barthello and Dona headed back to the dial and started looking it over again. Dona started spinning it until she finally lined the icons back up.
     "It's like a clock," Barthello said.
     "But no numbers," Dona added. "Maybe these symbols somehow make numbers?"

-------------------------{Dona & Barthello: Interview}-------------------------

     Dona and Barthello stood outside a wooden railing to what seemed to be a semi-deserted two-story motel. It was dark outside.
     "Barthello and I are great at puzzles," Dona said. "On our world, we had to do a ton of these annoying puzzles. They were so hard to follow, but we learned to put two and two together. Well I did, anyway. Barthello only learned to pretend to stay awake while I worked."

-------------------------{End Interview}-------------------------

     "Check it out, Ma!" Zell shouted in a hushed voice. Ma followed Zell's shout to a small section beside the pyramid where there was a display that seemed highly relevant. There were four panels, all the colors of the pyramid roof's squares. The top panel was red and beside it was a line and a dot. Below that was a yellow panel with three dots beside it. Then a blue panel with four dots, followed by a white with two lines. "Write that down, Ma!"
     Ma, who already had a notepad and pen out, started copying down the notes they'd found. "Do you know what it means, Zelly?"
     "Notta clue! But I'm sure we'll figure it out."

     Biran and Yenke stomped around on the pyramid's roof, touching random tiles. Yenke was bouncing on a couple to see if they go down. The panel continued to light up then turn off with each jump. Biran finally pulled him away from the white panel.
     "Ronso wasting their time," Biran said. "Ronso not smart enough to beat hornless ones. Need all the help Ronso can get. Time to give up."
     "Yenke agrees," Yenke said quickly. The Ronso raced down the stairs on the side of the pyramid and headed through the underwater tunnel in search of the roadblock.
     "Yenke will do it," Yenke said while they ran through the tunnel. "Yenke will try puzzle and try not to disappoint Biran."
     "Biran will watch and hope Yenke does good. Biran.....Biran believes in Yenke!"
     Yenke smiled the ugliest smile ever, like any good Ronso. They raced down the bridge and through the garden and power plant, then emerged by the sign of the combinations. Both started looking over the sign while Faris tried to see the sign around the Ronso, who made better doors than windows.
     Yenke took a long time, but finally raced off to actually face the challenge. Biran sat beside Faris and looked at her curiously.
     "You tell Ronso to 'ahoy,'" he said.
     "My way of sayin' 'hi,'" she informed him.
     "Ohh. Biran not take it like that at all. That why Ronso give the cold, hornless shoulder."
     "What be the reason fer the horn talk? A horn isn't all that makes a Ronso a Ronso, is it?"
     Biran thought for a moment. "Also blue hair! And large hands."
     "Aye. I knew thar be more."
     "Biran likes purple-haired one."
     Faris patted Biran on the back. "I like yeh too, blue."

     Dona and Barthello found the display the Dinchts had previously found with the colors and corresponding lines and dots. Barthello started writing notes on his beefy arm with the colors and the lines. After jotting everything down, he and Dona raced up to the top of the pyramid.

     "That's it!" Zell shouted. He and Ma were looking at the dial, which somebody had left in the aligned position.
     "It's like a clock," Ma noted. She pulled out her notepad and started converting the symbols based on the dial. She spoke outloud as she copied them down. "So there are...six reds. Three yellows... Four blues.... Where is the two line-- Oh, there. So ten whites."
     "Okay, awesome!" Zell shouted. "Let's get to the top and start putting these in!"

     Reina slid the final yellow block into the correct position and slid others away from the circle with a dot. The yellow sarcophagus clicked. She headed to the sarcophagus and slid off the lid, revealing a clue and a map of the area.
     "Got it!" she shouted. She raced out of the shrine with the clue and map in hand and rejoined with Faris.
     "Good job, sis!" Faris said. She took the map from her sister and unfolded it while Reina read the clue.
     "Make your way inside the Shelter to the Sleeping Quarters," Reina read.

<Announcer Gippal>
     "Teams must now make their way inside this strange, underground complex. The Sleeping Quarters are found on Basement 1, or B1, as listed on the map they received."

<Reina & Faris: Sisters, Currently in 1st Place>
     "Thar she is," Faris said, pointing to the Sleeping Quarters on B1. "Now just gotta figure out how ter get thar."
     Faris and Reina looked over their maps and looked at their surroundings. The area they were in right now was some form of nature preserve built inside a large dome, lit by artificial lights. There were large, metallic structures in the middle that made the racers question whether or not anything including the trees, were natural or not. They finally started heading toward the main observation area as listed on the map. It had displays of different trees and plants complete with museum-esque signs describing the plants, plus buttons that would make a voice explain it. In the observation area was an elevator, so Reina pushed the button and the sisters waited for the elevator to arrive.

     Zell reached the top of the pyramid and saw Barthello already starting to put in the code. He stepping on the red panel, backing off of it, then stepping back on. Zell made an exaggerated wave of his arm to encourage Ma to get to the top faster. Once she was there, he raced over to the red panel and started stepping on it as well. Just as he reached the red panel, Barthello moved over to the yellow panel, all the while looking at the notes on his arm.
     "Quick, Ma! How many reds!?" Zell shouted.
     "Six!" she shouted back.
     Zell started jumping up and down to disengage the button and re-engage it.
     Meanwhile, Barthello had pushed the yellow button three times and was moving over to the blue square. "Dona," Barthello said quietly. Dona ran over to him and got within whisper distance. "I know this one is four, because each dot is worth one, but how much were lines? The white is two lines."
     "Ten, you oaf," Dona replied. "It's not that hard to remember."
     Zell moved to the yellow space and hopped up and down three times, all the while watching Barthello curiously and hoping he was doing something wrong. Barthello moved to the white panel and started stepping on it. Zell freaked out and jumped off the yellows and moved to the blues, jumping on it four times. He raced to the white panel and started hopping up and down on it, activating it a lot faster than Barthello was and making it really hard to tell which of the two had actually made the panel light up.
     Ma and Dona stood back and watched. Ma crossed her fingers and held her breath, while Dona crossed her arms and at a certain point, looked away because she couldn't take the tension. Finally, the mouth of the large, golden head right behind Ma opened and inside were three boxes labeled for the three teams that had not taken the Fast Forward, which were Biran/Yenke, Ma/Zell, and Dona/Barthello. All boxes were locked, but then there was a clicking sound as one of the boxes opened.
     Ma and Dona both moved toward the boxes and tried to open their boxes. The one that opened was Dona and Barthello's.
     "Got it," Dona said. She tried to keep her cool, but the happiness was obviously overwhelming her and actually put a smile on her face.
     "NOOOOOOOO!" Zell shouted.
     "Good job," Ma said to Dona and Barthello. She then turned her attention to Zell. "Come on, Zelly. We have to catch up!"
     "SUUUUUCK!" Zell joined Ma and the two raced out of the pyramid area to get back on track.
     Dona opened the clue and read it. "Congratulations on winning the Fast Forward. Make your way to the parking garage on B2, where you will be driven to the Pit Stop in Dryfield."

<Announcer Gippal>
     "Having won the Fast Forward, Dona and Barthello can now skip all tasks proceed directly to the motel in Dryfield, the Pit Stop for this leg of the race."

<Dona & Barthello: Summoner/Guardian, Currently in 1st Place>
     Dona and Barthello headed out of the small forest that held the pyramid and into the observation area. They found the elevator and entered. Barthello pushed the button for B2. He remained still as the elevator started to slowly go down, when suddenly Dona jumped up on him.
     "We're in the final three!" she shouted.
     "We can win this!" Barthello said, surprisingly enthusiastically.
     They started holding hands and dancing around the elevator, which considering the dancers, was very disturbing. When the elevator dinged from reaching floor B2, both immediately released each other and stood tall and still as if nothing had happened. The two followed a path to the parking garage, where a man opened the door for them to enter. They walked out to a van with an opened door. There was a man that helped them inside and handed each a bottle of water before closing the door behind them and getting in the driver's seat. The van drove out of the garage and headed toward Dryfield. Dona and Barthello kicked back and waited.